Objective To determine the concentrations of allergens Der f 1 (from Dermatophagoides farinae) and Der p 1 (from D. pteronyssinus) in the dust from filters of domestic air conditioners and in the indoor air before and after the operation of air conditioners in Wuhu, Anhui province, China and to investigate the association of dust mite allergens in air conditioner filters with asthma attack. Methods Sixty dust samples were equally collected from the air conditioner filters in domestic houses of asthmatic patients and healthy subjects; indoor air dust samples were collected from the rooms of the above two groups using dust samplers, and for each group, 30 samples were collected before the operation of air conditioners and 30 samples after the operation. The concentrations of allergens Der f 1 and Der p 1 were determined by enzyme?linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the binding capacity of allergens from dust extract was measured by dot?ELISA. Results The median concentrations of Der f 1 and Der p 1 in dust from filters were 1.49 and 1.28 μg/g for healthy subjects, versus 0.73 and 0.85 μg/g for asthmatic patients (P＜0.01 and P＜0.05). The median concentrations of Der f 1 and Der p 1 in air before the operation of conditioners were 4.65 and 5.90 ng/m3 for healthy subjects, versus 5.05 and 5.90 ng/m3 for asthmatic patients; the median concentrations of Der f 1 and Der p 1 in air after the operation of conditioners were 7.65 and 7.35 ng/m3 for healthy subjects, versus 7.15 and 7.10 ng/m3 for asthmatic patients. The Results showed that for both asthmatic patients and healthy subjects, the concentrations of Der f 1 and Der p 1 in air increased significantly after the air conditioners were turned on (P＜0.05). Additionally, the Dot?ELISA findings revealed that the allergens from dust extract were capable of binding to IgE from the sera of asthmatic patients allergic to dust mites. Conclusion Allergens Der f 1 and Der p 1 exist in the filters of air conditioners in domestic houses of Wuhu, and the concentrations of the two allergens in air increase significantly after the operation of air conditioners. These findings suggest that the filters of domestic air conditioners should be cleaned or replaced regularly to prevent or reduce internal accumulation of dust mites.
WANG Kexia, LIU Zhiming, JIANG Yuxin, DIAO Jidong, XU Haifeng, XU Pengfei, LI Chaopin,
. Detection of dust mite allergens from filters of air conditioners[J]. Chinese Journal of Vector Biology and Control, 2014
, 25(2)
: 135
-138
.
DOI: 10.11853/j.issn.1003.4692.2014.02.012
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